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September is the month the Avignon forum recommends without qualification for inland Provence: very warm sunny days without midsummer's humidity, and cool nights that let you recover before the next one. Crowds melt in the first week as French schools go back - the difference between late August and mid-September is described as significant. Two local phenomena to know: a mini-Mistral can blow up from the north and make a day feel chilly, though it rarely lasts beyond 24 to 36 hours; and from mid-September the episodes mediterraneens begin, very localised torrential rain that occasionally floods rivers. A waterproof earns its place against wind and water both. The record: 27C days, 13.3C nights, 5.5 precipitation days carrying 82.1mm, 10.2 hours of sun.

Forum posters describe November in Montpellier as coming after the region's wettest months, typically bringing clear blue skies, with sunny mornings reaching 15C or higher by 10am - though posters are direct that year-to-year variation is real, with some Novembers mild enough for pools to stay open and others turning properly cold, with nights occasionally dropping near 0C. Posters generally describe Montpellier's winter as milder than northern Europe but still capable of real rain at this time of year. Posters generally recommend layered clothing to handle the day-to-night temperature swing and the genuine uncertainty about which kind of November shows up. Posters generally rate November as a pleasant, if unpredictable, time to visit Montpellier.

May in the South of France is the forum's sweet spot — warm enough to be outside all day without summer's oppressive heat — and Montpellier runs near 22°C with rain on under six days. The honest part is the sea. Nearby Le Grau-du-Roi averages about 17°C in May, which the forum describes plainly as too cold for some, and the beaches that month are quiet: more walkers and people playing games than swimmers. Bring light layers you can add and shed, because May here is pleasant without being predictable.